They sold us like yam, used us like machine –Lebanon returnees

25 young ladies who are indigenes of Osun State have been rescued from Lebanon where they claimed that they were enslaved for over a year.

The ladies recounted their ordeal yesterday on arrival at the State Ministry of Women Affairs in Osogbo, the state capital.

They said they were lured to Lebanon under the pretext that they would get decent jobs and earn a good salary.

One of the returnees, Miss Ibukun Ayobami told Daily Trust that their agents traded them like foodstuff and that those that bought them used them like machines for domestic house chores.

Ibukun said her agent sold her to a family and that she was working 21 hours every day and only have three hours to herself.

She said when she demanded her salary after a few months, the master became angry and returned her to the agent and demanded a refund from the agent.

She said the agent was furious and beat her mercilessly and also locked her in a room for two weeks without food.

“When the agent opened the door after two weeks and asked if I’m ready to work, I had no option. That was how I was sold to another master and was working until I escaped to the Nigerian embassy in Lebanon,” she said.

Another returnee, Mariam Adedolapo also gave the same account, saying that her slave master in Lebanon always threatened to kill her, reminding her that he bought her and therefore paid for her life.

The returnees were received on behalf of the Osun State Government by the Commissioner for Women, Children and Social Affairs, Mrs Olubukola Olaboopo, and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Diaspora Matters, Mrs Titi FadahunsiAjayi.